# IHTs Dad



## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Hey all.....just got off the phone with IHT. His Dad is really sick, so I thought I would get on here and ask you all to say a little prayer for him. I guess he doesn't have a ulcer, he has massive bleeding in the brain. So please say a prayer or what ever your religion does for his Dad and family.


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## Churchlady (Jan 22, 2004)

We're praying over here!


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2004)

Prayers sent. Thanks CT.


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## Brandon (Dec 11, 1997)

He and his familly will be in my thoughts and prayers.


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Thanks guys.....keep em coming


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

He and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.


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## relaxnsmoke (Mar 24, 2003)

Sending in prayers from the NW Region, rns.


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## motortown (Jan 14, 2004)

Julie and I will continue to keep IHT and his family in our prayers.


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## MadMac (Dec 6, 2003)

Prayers sent.....

Madmac


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## Bruce5 (Jul 27, 2003)

Prayer from Baltimore


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Thanks everyone.


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## robmcd (Apr 9, 2002)

thoughts and prayers sent - any additional news?


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Rob thanks for asking but unfortunatly I haven't heard anything. The last time I talked with IHT he was headed towards St. Louis. He is going to keep me informed by email, since I will be leaving tomorrow for Germany. He would also but unfortunatly his Dad took this turn for the worse. He might get on and see this and post something, but if not I will as soon as I hear anything.

Thanks you guys are the best


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

thanks for thethoughts guys/gals. 

thisis really suckin. he did/does have an ulcer, but they were still finding that his hemoglobin levelswere down... he's got a # of bleeds in his brain. i have yet to see him, as i got here around9:30pm 

i talked to a nurse beforei left KC. due to all the drugs he has to take for his heart, and all the other junk that's gone on the past year, his blood pressure is trhough the roof. so, when he had to go to the hospital for pnuemonia, it was up over 300 over something... outrageously high, and with the blood thinning meds he's on, it's not a good combo.

waiting for a neuro surgeon to check him out, they'll move him to another hospital. butit's bad enough that they're flying my brother home from Iraq. 

with the way they're talking, he could have another stroke at any moment, or just keep on bleeding or something... they have yet to tell him what's going on. i guess he still thinks he's there for pnuemonia and his lungs. my mom said he's said a few words, but that'sabout it. sorry for the spacing, ion my moms crapcomputer.

sometimes my wife says i'm turning into my dad.. don't knowhow that would be a bad thing, it's a compliment to me. he's the guy thatshowed me how to be a man, how to stand up for what i did wrong, accept responsibility, etc. 

the one thing i keep thinking about is that i hope my son will look up to me when i'm in my dads position.

here's a memory that i know some of you might have: playing hotbox in the front yard in springfield, IL. i wasn't even in gradeschool yet, and me and my bro were playin', my dad comes out and is the "runner". i had never had anyone slide at me before, and here comes this 6' 185lb giant, sliding feet first at a 4-5 yr old kid... scared the crap outta me.

he was tieing my shoes one day, man i was little, can't believe i remember this one... and he would make a funny inhaling sound while the cig hung from his lips... so i started to try and breathe like him.

going to family reunions, playin hoops and seeing my dad out there, shooting the J, finding out where i got it from....

lol, playing traveling league baseball, he would yell at me on the mound, "plastic face", cuz i'd get pissed at the ump for a bad call when i'd pitch onedown themiddle... 

he had to ref one of my b-ball games when i went to private school, he wascalling me for every ticky-tack foul in the world... man i was pissed... as pissed as a 5th grade catholic school boy could be anyway....

i also remember how worried he was when i had to have my knee scoped after a HS football game. i was the one telling jokes, not him.

he's a great guy, didn't deserve to have all this happen to him. funny as hell.

i would watch him, my mom, aunt and uncle play spades all night on the weekends. sometimes, he'd let me and my little brother split a busch beer.... 

this one is a good one: as a teen, getting ready for school one morning, i hear through the door, "greg, did you know that 95% of all men jerkoff in the shower? the other 5% sing a song... what's that song again?" "i don't know, dad." "oh, so you must be part of the 95%!!"

mike/coppertop, i'll keep you updated via email. i know you won't get them til friday at the earliest. there's a network connection in that building. just unplug ports 8, 9, and 10 along the wall. those go to the in-house computers. just click, "workstation only", and you'll be good. the LAN box is on the far left front wall, they left the key in it when i was there a few weeks ago.

talk to you all soon.


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## OpusEx (Oct 31, 2003)

Got a nice smile on my face reading your memories, great way to start my day. Thoughts with you and your family and I hope all goes well.

Marc


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

I hope your Dad is doing better. We all do. I will check those ports when get there on friday. Best wishs to you and your family Gumby/IHT. I'll have some sticks waiting for you when you get to Germany, if you are able to make it.


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## drc (Dec 31, 1999)

Thoughts and prayers are with your dad and all your family, IHT. Thanks for sharing those memories of your dad. I hope my son can remember half that much.


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## ESP (Jan 1, 2000)

Thouhts and prayers for you and your family.


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## one90proof (Dec 26, 2003)

Those are some great memories. I'm glad that you are able to focus on the good times. You and your family will be in my prayers.


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

Wasn't home yesterday till late but all my thoughts & prayers are with you & your family. All the best for your dad!

MoTheMan


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

damn, i tried to post an update earlier today, but my moms computer sucks ass.

well, my mom neglected to inform me that he's paralyzed on the right side... which explains why he can't talk very well...

the latest ct scan showed no NEW blood, so he's in the same place he was before... they still dont' know what they're gonna do, but if he stays stable, that's a good thing, although he's not doing great right now. better than i thought, except the paralysis... nobody said boo-shit about that... they still have yet to tell HIM what's going on, so he thinks he's ready to go home, at least that's what he's mumbling and nodding his head to. my wife (ex-ICU nurse - current trauma nurse) says that he KNOWS he can't move that side of his body, so he KNOWS something is wrong...

they've got him on meds to keep his BP down (a lot lower than the 300 over whatever he had when he couldn't breathe). they seem to think that his high BP and super thin blood (thanks to his meds at home for his heart) are the reason why he was bleeding. 

i guess they'll either put something in his head to make the brain fluid and blood drain into his stomach, or put something in there to drain the blood that's arleady there, if it doesn't just re-absorb istelf. 

they won't know for a long while the extent of the damage the stroke caused, but my wife says he'll be in the hospital for a while longer (weeks), and then do some physical therapy.

can anyone here give me any personal experience with this, if you feel like talking about it. nobody seems to know what the fluck they're gonna do. he's still waiting to be shipped to another hospital in downtown STL....


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## 5by50 (Jan 1, 2000)

*Prayers*

Well, if it was a stroke than usually the next 24 to 48 hours are critical. They really can't do much but see how the body bounces back from the stroke. Once they know the damage, then they can go from there. I am no expert but thats what I remember........all the best and stay positive ................


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## poker (Dec 11, 1997)

Thoughts & prayers sent


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## seagarsmoker (Jan 1, 2000)

Positive thoughts from Julianne and I.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

*Re: Prayers*



5by50 said:


> *Well, if it was a stroke than usually the next 24 to 48 hours are critical. They really can't do much but see how the body bounces back from the stroke. Once they know the damage, then they can go from there. I am no expert but thats what I remember........all the best and stay positive ................ *


he had the stroke, they think, on saturday morning or late friday night. he went in with pnuemonia and couldn't keep anything down... when he aspirated (inhaled) some of his vomit, it caused him to stop breathing... so, they don't know what exactly caused it or not.

i understand that they won't know the full extent of the damage for a while... i just wish they could tell me what they're going to do in the very immediate future about the bleeds in his brain. i guess that's all subject to if he keeps on bleeding and if his brain absorbs the blood....


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Thats good to hear Gumby. I hope his next Cat goes well. We are thinking about you and your family over here. Talk to you later.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

update

things are going good, as good as they can be. i stayed at the hospital last night until they kicked me out. was trying to tell him about albert pujols and all the stuff with the yankees going on. he seemed to follow me, but the neurologist was thinking that he didn't understand or would remember what i said.... he also could NOT move his right side of his body still. he was humming a few tunes, but didn't put together more than a 3 word sentence...

this morning, entirely different story. i got there a few minutes after visiting hours started, my mom was already there. he was just (trying) to talk like crazy, saying the nurses were wrong, but couldn't say about what they were wrong about. but, he was having a conversation, if you could understand him. much better than the 3 word sentences from the night prior. then i figured i'd ask him if he remembered me talking about albert pujols the night before, and he nodded... almost finished my next sentence for me, as best he could.

later, my mom was cleaning his dressing on his lower leg (he had a complete leg bypass in november, still healing), and changing the bandage on his foot where it hasn't healed from cutting some bone out back in August. well, he was clinching his left fist, so i asked if it hurt. he nodded, which i thought was odd, since he was "paralyzed", how could he feel it? well, that's a good sign. about 10 minutes later, when they were almost done putting on the new bandages, i saw him shrug his right shoulder! so, he had movement on the right side for once! 

my wife and i took our 3 yr old to the store cuz he was being such a good boy, and when we came back, i was told that he had moved his elbow and bent his leg at the knee. also, his regular doctor came by and checked if he could push away with his right arm, and he could. so, he's getting some movement back already. he couldn't grip or wiggle his fingers or toes, but that will come back with rehab.

so, that's where we stand now, he's not going to be paralyzed forever, but won't be the same. they did the swallow tests, and he didn't score too well, but hey, it's only a few days after a major stroke. 

his latest CT scan showed no new blood and we had to talk with a rehab coordinator. they're gonna move him to another hospital with a great rehab center either monday or tuesday.

mike/coppertop, could you cut/paste the above in an email to the guys at work? my TSACs connection is only 24kbps....

also, as you know, i'll be flying to germany on monday, same schedule that you flew on. be prepared to pick my rump up at the airport at 9am tuesday!!

talk to you all later


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## Brandon (Dec 11, 1997)

Glad to hear it. I hope thing continue to improve for your dad!


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## bumpus (Jan 20, 2004)

Nice to hear some good news IHT. I've been thinking about you and your family. I hope things continue to improve!


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Gumby I sent a email to Bee, and Ed. Anyone else you want me to send it to. Glad to hear the news. I'll be there around 9 to pick your butt up. I might have another guy with me scouting out Munich Airport. 

We are trying to get Chucks email address. The one Ed has didn't work. When we get it I'll shoot him a email. Have a safe drive home. 

We are all glad to hear your Dad is doing better.


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## Pablo (Oct 13, 1997)

Thoughts and prayers are with you. Great thoughts in your post!


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

no improvements today, actually a step back. they took him off his heart (blood pressure) meds, but then he started having heart flutters. then, his heart rate started soaring as well. not stable at all. it wasn't just little bits, but going from 80bpm up to 130bpm, and his BP was down to 115 over something, then up to 190 over something... 

they put in a feeding tube today, but i haven't seen him right before or since they've done that. we're going to have a meeting with his doctor to make up a list of things in case he gets way worse... like if they should revive him, etc. no, he did not have a living will or ANY of that stuff. he refused to do it... so, now it's up to the family members to come up with what WE feel HE would want done in those circumstances... unbelievable to my older brother and I, they (my mom and dad) had NEVER had these discussions before... EVER!!?? even after his triple bypass, after his leg bypass when he arrested on the table, etc. 

so, still not out of the woods, but good enough for me to head home tomorrow afternoon.

oh, they sat him up in a chair, he talked pretty good, he moved the right side of his body a little more today... he's having some troubles, as expected. when asked to swallow, he sticks out his tongue (which is something else they've been asking him to do). he knows he's in the "ICU", but not in a hospital/school/church...

thanks for listening.


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## coppertop (Dec 29, 2003)

Gumby.....has his BP stablized? 

I hope he continues to improve. I'll see you on tuesday...it will be just me. 


Talk to you later


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2004)

Hope he recovers. Prayers.

Mike


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## Lamar (Dec 12, 1997)

IHT

Modern medicine is famous for turning our parents into pieces. They have a way of treating component parts with no understanding of the whole.

Be there to give your father peace by bringing some wisdom into the situation. Be there to decide which medication or course of treatment is in your father's best overall interest. Be there to give your father the love that he has given you for a lifetime.


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